Description

1797 $5 Small Eagle, 16 Stars AU55 NGC. BD-3, R.6.
Bass-Dannreuther Obverse Die State a, Reverse Die State c. A very
rare coin that Bass-Dannreuther estimates exists only to the extent
of 20-25 pieces in all grades, this is nonetheless the most
"common" of the three known 1797 Small Eagle varieties. On the
obverse star 1 pierces the lowest curl, and the 1 in the date also
touches that curl. The last 7 in the date touches the bottom of the
bust. Star 16 virtually touches the tip of the bust, and all of the
crowded stars on both the left and right sides of the obverse touch
or nearly so. This so-called "common" variety represents the first
of three uses of this obverse die, two of which are unique. The
second pairing is with the unique Reed-Parmelee BD-4 1797 Small
Eagle coin, and the third is the unique BD-5 1797 Large Eagle, 16
Star Obverse coin, now in the Smithsonian, previously owned by
Waldo Newcomer, Colonel Green, and King Farouk.
On the reverse of this specimen, the two wreath ends match at their
ends, and there are two berries, both outside of the wreath.
Several prominent die cracks appear: one from the rim between IT
through the eagle's left wing; one from the lower rim through the
eagle's perch to his right (facing) leg; one connecting the right
wing with the tail feathers; and a fourth from the tail feathers
through the last A in AMERICA to the rim. Bass-Dannreuther
estimates that about 1,000 to 1,500 coins were minted with this
reverse in its single use, which is completely explainable by die
failure as the various cracks progressed to the terminal state.
This coin shows much luster clinging to the orange-gold surfaces.
Under a loupe a couple of nicks and scratches show on Liberty's
bust and neck, and a pinscratch run across the eagle's breast.
While those scrapes and abrasions require mentioning, they will
certainly fail to dampen enthusiasm for this exceedingly rare and
beautiful coin from the early days of U.S. numismatics. Census: 1
in 55, 4 finer (6/12).From The Harvey Collection.(Registry
values: P7) (NGC ID# 25NF, PCGS# 8068)